ABC accuses FCC of violating First Amendment over "The View"

ABC filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission on May 7 accusing the agency of violating its First Amendment rights through its investigation into the talk show "The View," according to multiple reports.

The broadcaster argues that the FCC has demanded ABC prove that "The View" qualifies as a news program, or risk being forced to give equal airtime to every political candidate who requests it. ABC contends that such a requirement would "chill critical protected speech" and "threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice."

At the center of the dispute is the equal time rule, which requires broadcast stations that air interviews with one political candidate to provide equal time and opportunity to opposing candidates. "The View" has operated under a bona fide news exemption from this rule for more than twenty years, according to ABC's filing. The network states in its petition that the show "has been broadcasting under a bona fide news exemption granted to it more than twenty years ago, consistent with longstanding Commission interpretations designed to minimize the serious First Amendment problems inherent in the equal time regime."

The FCC's actions represent "major shifts in policy and practice," ABC claims, and require oversight from the full Commission and the courts. The network is asking the FCC to "affirm its long-standing approach to the bona fide news interview exemption" for the daytime talk show and to support "public interest services provided by broadcast stations."

The petition comes amid an escalating dispute between the FCC and ABC's parent company, Walt Disney Co. Last month, the FCC ordered Disney to file early license renewal applications for its ABC television stations, citing an ongoing investigation. That order came one day after President Trump called on the company to fire comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who hosts a late-night show on ABC.

In a legal motion filed Thursday, KTRK-TV, a Houston-based ABC-owned local television station, also pushed back against the FCC investigation. The station's lawyers accused the "Trump-controlled commission" of taking actions that "threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech," and alleged the agency is punishing the network for political purposes.

ABC further argues that the FCC's investigation involves questions about the network's diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, which the broadcaster contends should not factor into determinations about whether a program qualifies for the news exemption.

The FCC did not immediately return a request for comment on the petition.